Mavis, along with her friends Irma Ogden and Joyce Lennox, were three workers from Elliston's Raincoat Factory who had their hair done at Valerie's every Saturday morning in preparation for going out that night. One morning in January 1964, Joyce was the last to be done and Irma and Mavis danced to their transistor radio in the salon while they waited, teasing Joyce about a man from the factory that fancied her. When Ken Barlow came into the room to use the phone, Mavis was vocal about how much she fancied him.
Later on that day, the three investigated the goings on in the basement of the factory where Laurie Frazer was beginning the work of converting the basement into a nightclub. Laurie flirted with the three of them and told them to return to him when they were nearer opening as he was always on the lookout for girls like them to work for him.